2000 VFR Horn Not Working

Well I was outside today changing a headlight bulb and noticed that I had a burnt out dash bulb as well. Changing the headlight was a bit of a pain because I just could not get the little clip on the headlight retainer spring in place so I decided to remove the upper cowl and while I was at it I decided to change out the burnt out dash light at the same time. Since the bike is 13 years old I thought for the few dollars it would take I decided to change out the all the dash light bulbs. When I put everything back together the kids wanted to take a few pictures of them sitting on the bike. I started the bike up to check and make sure all the lights were working and my son hit the horn button and NOTHING.

I checked all the connections and all the wires are connected, and the fuse is fine (the brakes, turn signals and indicator lights are on the same fuse) as everything else on the circuit is functioning normally. Is there a way to test the actual horn to see if it works?? Has anyone ever had a horn fail?? How might I go about testing the wiring with a multi-meter to see if the switch is working?? Electrical testing is not exactly my forte and any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

You should be able to test the connector to the horn for 12 volts when the horn button is pressed. If there is voltage than it is most likely the horn itself.

 

Do I test the horn wires by attaching the negative lead of the multimeter to ground on the bike chassis and then test each wire going to the horn while pressing the horn button or do I need to attach the negative to one of the horn wires and the positive to the other and then press the horn button to test for voltage. May sound like a dumb question but heh, if you're a dope and you know it raise your hand and don't be afraid to ask the dopey question, right?

 

Set your multimeter to read Volts. (Range 10-100 or similar)
Unplug wires from the horn.
Take one of these wires and attach to one of the multimeter leads.
Take the other wire and attach to the other multimeter lead.
Switch on the bike.
Press horn button.
If the multimeter reads 12v or -12v then the horn is dead.
If the multimeter reads 0v then there is a wiring harness circuit problem.

 

Being that the stock horn is a worthless piece of crap, this is your opportunity to upgrade to a Stebel Nautilus.

 

Thank You for the replies and I will post up some findings tomorrow once I have had a chance to do some tests. First I have to find and then unpack the mulitmeter that I have never, EVER, used since purchasing a VFR. Honestly, who ever has had an electrical issue with a VFR???? I mean, come on, seriously, ANYBODY???????? Ok Ok, maybe I'm being a bit sarcastic. LOL

 

Thanks Mello. Do I win a prize if I scare the crap out of my family when the horn goes BEEEEEEEP and I set my hair on fire?? LOL. Guess if the horn goes off I have other problems to fix.

 

I second what Rainbow suggested. Trash that stocker fer a Stebel-----That was the VERY first thing I did after buying my bike. Check out Bikerhiway.com----$30 bucks and DAMN WELL WORTH IT

 

Ok, so the results are in and I used the methods suggested by both Azi and Mellow. According to the mellow method, I attached a battery to the horn (all I had was a 6V battery from the kids 12V (has 2 6V batteries) Jeep and the horn squawked though it did sound even more whimpish than it did before as a result of the lack of incoming voltage I imagine. As a result I would say the actual horn does work since it makes noise when power is applied. As per all the suggestions I will be upgrading the horn to something that will strike fear in to the hearts and minds of those who may dare to cut off a VFR. As to which particular noise generating device I choose I'm not quite sure as yet. I like the idea of the Stebel air horn but my son enjoys sitting on the bike after a ride and revving the throttle slightly to pretend he is actually riding (for all those who might think me a poor excuse for a father, the bike is on the center stand, I am standing right beside him, bike is in neutral, his legs are too sort to actually engage the gear shift, and he knows not to do any more than blip the throttle the odd time as opposed to full lock cracks of the GO grip) I would hesitate to get something so loud as to initiate a heart attack for either father or son.

The multimeter suggestion by Azi was also applied and the reading were, well, odd in a way. When I attached the meter to the horn leads the display read around 10 mV and fluctuated only very slightly (at this point I have yet to press the horn switch) although the meter when set to read DC Volts (auto ranging type meter) always reads a couple of mV, either positive or negative according to the display. As a matter of fact if I attach the leads between thumb and finger on each hand the display reads about 67 mV so when my wife says I have an electric personality..................

When I press the horn switch with the mulitmeter leads attached the voltage on the display changes to about 6 mV so would I be safe to assume that there is indeed a wiring issue with the switch?? Is there any way to test the switch itself?? I did remove the horn/signal/high beam switch assembly from the bar and checked the inside of the switch housing for corrosion or dirt but did not see anything on the high beam or turn signal switch (the horn assembly is way down below the turn signal and not visible) so I can only assume there is an issue elsewhere. Does the stock horn have a relay that might be burnt out or is it likely that the switch assembly itself is shot and needs replacing?? I don't mind buying a new switch assembly but would rather not replace the switch only to discover that there is a problem somewhere else.

One thing I should mention is that while changing all the bulbs (headlight and instrument panel) yesterday I did rotate the clutch lever assembly forward a bit to change the angle but there are no wires pinched anywhere so I doubt that would have changed anything.

Any more ideas guys or other suggestions??

 

Most silent OEM horns can be "fixed" if they're getting power. :crazy: My favorite method is to spray them liberally with PB or WD and let them soak for 5 minutes. Next, apply voltage either through the pushbutton or by outside wires while you tap the horn repeatedly with a small hammer !! Very often this gets an old horn working again, and if not, you can loosen and adjust the small brass screw at the rear + or - about 1/2 turn.

 

Guess I will have to remove the front fairing again and start over with the multimeter. :frusty: :doh: :yuck: out:

 

Have yet to do that particular test Tink, but I will check and then let ya know.

 

Hey Tink

When you say one of the horn wires should read 0v and the other should read 12-14v is that with the horn switch depressed or no?

 

When I am looking at the wiring diagram there are two wires coming off the horn itself. One wire is light green and the other is darker green. The light green wire (Lg) on the diagram goes from the horn to the switch and when you press the switch that wire connects to the Bl/Br wire which seems to be the common power wire for the lights/turn signals/headlights and horn and goes to the fuse box for that particular wire. The Green wire (G) appears to be the common ground wire and terminates at the chassis ground point.

If this is the case then should I have 12-14V at the Light Green (Lg) wire when the horn button is depressed thus connecting the circuit and 0V when the button is released. The Green wire (G) by comparison should read 0V all the time since it is basically the chassis ground wire.

I will go and try the connections and see what I get for results and then report back.

 

Ok so when I test each wire to ground here are the results. Multimeter when not connected to anything reads around 40-60 mV dc so I am going to assume this is a 0 VDC reading.

Switch Released

Lt Green (Lg) to Ground - 0 Vdc
Green (G) to Ground - 0 Vdc
Lt Green (Lg) wire to (+) lead of meter and Green (G) wire to (-) lead of meter = 0Vdc

Switch Activated

Lt Green (Lg) to Ground - 12.6 Vdc
Green (G) to Ground - 0 Vdc
Lt Green (Lg) wire to (+) lead of meter and Green (G) wire to (-) lead of meter = slowly climbs from 90-180 mV DC

One thing I should mention is that the battery is brand new and fully charged (13.1 VDC at rest) and was installed on Thursday this week. Charging system has been totally redone and shows 13.2 VDC at idle and 14.3 VDC at anything above 2000 RPM (indicated by gauge).